Diurnal rhythmicity of endogenous TNF alpha concentration in plasma of advanced gastrointestinal cancer patients
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- Published online on: May 1, 1997 https://doi.org/10.3892/or.4.3.637
- Pages: 637-640
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Abstract
The objective of this study was to test the hypothesis of a diurnal fluctuation of circulating levels of endogenous tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF alpha) in patients with advanced gastrointestinal cancer. Serum levels of TNF alpha were measured at 8 am., 2 p.m., 6 p.m., 10 p.m., and 2 a.m, in 40 patients with advanced gastro-intestinal cancer. In the control group TNF alpha plasma levels were low and did not exhibit regular patterns. On the contrary serum TNF alpha levels were substantially increased in patients with advanced cancer. Peak value appeared at 2 a.m. In contrast, the levels were low in the afternoon (2 p.m.). The presence of circadian rhythm was found with an acrophase at 0 h 36 min.